The parallel universes of Hong Kong

View of Hong Kong island from Kowloon

I always imagined Hong Kong as a mythical place that was created to be a backdrop for action movies starring the likes of Jackie Chan or epic novels such as James Clavell's Tai-Pan. Now that I'm here, I feel like I've entered that mythical world. It's so surreal it's hard to imagine it really exists.

View of Hong Kong island at night

I knew there would be skyscrapers, I just had no idea how high they really are. I knew the view across Victoria Harbour at night would be breathtaking, I just had no idea the buildings participate in a light show performance. I knew there would be vast shopping malls, I just had no idea that Armani shops could span over three floors or that a mall could be more than a kilometer long. I knew the internet would be fast, I just had no idea how super lightning fast.

Endless shopping malls, decorated for Chinese New Year

View from Victoria Peak

I knew the city would be crowded, but for some reason, it's not as crowded as I expected. That's probably because the city is sectioned into layers, like parallel universes, each with a unique purpose and a life of its own.

Underground passageway

There is the underground layer with the metro and the myriad of underground passageways so convoluted that a map is needed to be able to understand how to exit a metro station.

A public park

Then there is the street level with the buses and taxis and surprisingly few cars that is shared with pedestrians. It's clean, smoking and spitting is prohibited in public areas, there are sidewalks and traffic lights and friendly reminders which way to look before crossing the street. There are so many public parks and green areas, it's hard to believe how they fit them all in among the skyscrapers.

Friendly reminders to ensure safe crossing

And then there is the upper layer, consisting of escalators, overpasses and all weather walkways that wind through shopping malls and end up in fancy hotels or bank headquarters.

Entering the upper layer

The Apple store is on the upper layer

Upper layers for pedestrians and cars

An upper layer walkway may easily flow into a public park or a children's playground or a tai chi court.

Walkway continues into a public park

Since most of Hong Kong island is on a hill, they have the Travelator, an escalator that carries people uphill. It would be a fun free ride if only you didn't have to walk back.

The Travelator

Once I enter a layer, it's like I'm caught in it, living the life of that universe, going with the flow, following the signs at intersections to get me where I want to go. But getting out of a layer is an exciting adventure of finding my way out of the maze of passageways.

Shops advertise to each of the layers

Last, but not least, there is the Star ferry that has been carrying passengers across Victoria Harbour between Kowloon and Hong Kong island since 1880. They have renewed their fleet since then, but still, the boat I took was built in 1958, before I was born. It's like history is mixed in with the futuristic look and feel of the skyscrapers.

View of Kowloon from the Star ferry